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PRESTONMARLOWEISA COCKY,
MISCHIEVOUSSNIPERWHOENDEDUP
INBADCOMPANYAFTERCRASHING
A HELICOPTERINTOA GENERAL’S
LIMOUSINE.TERRANCE‘SWEETS’
SWEETWATERISA TWITCHY
TECHNICIANWHOACCIDENTALLY
UPLOADEDA VIRUSTOA MILITARY
COMPUTER.GEORGE‘HAGS’HAGGARD
ISA PYROMANIACREDNECKWHO
BLEWUPANAMMODEPOT.AND
SAMUEL‘SARGE’REDFORDISTHE
LEADER,WHOONLYJOINEDBAD
COMPANYBECAUSEHEWASPROMISED
ANEARLYDISCHARGEFROMTHE
ARMYIFHEDIDSO.IT’SA MOTLEY,
RAGTAGBUNCH,ANDTHEIRINABILITY
TOBEHAVELIKEPROFESSIONAL
SOLDIERSISA FREQUENTSOURCEOF
AMUSEMENT.
TheoriginalBadCompany,releasedon
Xbox 360 in 2008,wasthefirstgameto
useDICE’sproprietaryFrostbiteengine
- which,in fact,EAis stillusingtoday,
forgamesasdiverseasDragonAge
andStarWarsBattlefront.A technology
called‘tacticaldestruction’(DICEloves
a goodbuzzword)letsyoublastthe
game’slevelsapart,blowingchunksout
ofwallsandlevellingbuildings.There’s
nothingtomatchthescaleofBattlefield
4’scollapsingskyscraperin BadCompany,
butit wasimpressiveatthetime,andwas
oneofthegame’sbiggestsellingpoints.
Destructiblesceneryis a fairlystandard
thingin today’sfirst-personshooters,but
in thegamingsphereofeightyearsago,
justthepromiseofit wasenoughtoignite
people’sappetites.
In multiplayer,a reliablystrategic,and
dramatic,useofthistechis settingthe
chargeata controlpoint,coveringthe
wallsin C4,thenhidingoutside.The
enemyteamwillinevitablymakea dash
forthepointtodisarmthecharge,at
whichpointyouclickyourdetonator
andwatchwithgleeastheentire
buildingcollapsesonthem,earningyou
a mountainofXP.Severalgames,notably
RedFaction,featureddestructiblelevels,
butBadCompanywasoneofthefirstto
havemeaningfultacticalapplications.
There was also something irresistible